


Drag Me Down

by Airrah11



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Goddesses, Gods, Greek Mythology - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-05-27 18:50:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15031034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Airrah11/pseuds/Airrah11
Summary: "Listen well my importunity- all that is petty must be set aside in favor of unity.Set aside your past as Misery reascends at long last.For Darkness descends as old gods rise.Beware all heroes- the end is nigh."BuckyxFemOc. Greek mythology included.(The team fighting an actual hydra? We'll see. ;))





	1. The Call of Winter

A/N: Here is an older Avengers Fanfic I'm reworking and reposting because no one really reacted to it in any way? Anyway, please tell me what you think below, and please follow for more! Every other chapter will be a flashback, and I promise the flashbacks aren't grating or unpleasant to read- they're actually my favorite parts of the story. I'll be trying to make the chapters each this length, though some will probably be a bit longer since I originally wrote the story when I was into writing and posting ten thousand word chapters (because I was stupid- No one wants to read a ten K chapter, Erin). As always, leave your questions in the comments and I will reply via PM. Enjoy :)

They were on a dark road. Somewhere in eastern europe, probably closest to Russia. The road was unkempt and the wilderness surrounding was eating away at the edges. It led them deep into the night, away from civilization. The car they were riding in crossed two bridges before they heard it.

The lullaby. The singer appeared tormented, her voice rough and sobbing. It grew in volume till they saw a woman. She was sitting on the edge of a cliff, her hair uncombed and wild, her nightgown ripped and torn and covered in blood and dirt. They did not stop the car, there was no way that she was real. The singing did not stop, and the volume was constant.

The next time they saw her, she was standing and faced away from them on the opposite side of the road, miles away from her previous position. Her hands covered her face and her shoulders shook. Her voice was soft , but not muffled by her hands.

"Maybe we should stop." Wanda suggested, but Bucky didn't stop the car.

He was the one driving, as Steve was sleeping in the passenger seat, having driven for a day and a half himself. Bucky didn't trust the voice, and he knew the hydra base they were near was abandoned for good reason. He didn't know the particulars, but he knew that something had gone wrong a couple of decades back. He knew he had been there before, but his memory was hazy on the subject of how long or the why.

His gut told him something was wrong, terribly terribly wrong. He knew that if they stopped, it would be dangerous. But nothing prepared him for the faceless girl manifesting in the road before them and he threw on the brakes to avoid her.

Her singing did not cease till they came to a complete stop. In a heartbeat, her form was dispersed into the night. Steve was awake now and he had seen the girl as well. Scott, the 'Ant Man' stepped out of the car first. Concern shone on his features for the woman, but soon enough he heard the jingling of bells begin as two small girls stepped out of the forest.

The rest of them filed out of the car; Steve, Bucky, Wanda, Clint, Sam- all of them.

The two girls stepped out of the darkness, approaching them with curious eyes. The two were obviously twins, identical in every way. They were holding hands, swinging their arms back and forth as they approached the group. Grade school age; around seven or eight if Bucky had to guess. One of them wore a lilac lace dress more reminiscent of church wear from when he and Steve were young. The other wore a similar fashioned dress, but it was baby pink and torn in numerous places. She was spotted with blood, but her skin appeared clean and pink in the moonlight.

"I'm Lucy!" The one wearing pink pronounced, her strawberry blond head bouncing up and down as she stepped closer. Her eyes were dark; almost black even in the light. Her sister smiled softly behind her, not revealing any teeth as she shyly hid behind her bolder sister.

"Mother wants to meet her guests," The shy one mumbled and Lucy tilted her head to the side as she analyzed the group. It was unnerving for one so young to be so… predatory.

"Yes, Aggie. She does." Lucy pronounced, more for them than anything.

"Mother hasn't had any guests in such a long time. She would never pass up the opportunity." Lucy mentioned, drawing her eyes to Bucky. She smiled at him, her teeth sharpened into points.

Her sister whispered into her ear, "He smells like us, so does the blond one, but not as much."

Lucy nodded.

"We have someone to stop," Steve told the girls but the twins did not care.

"Mother knows what the plan the man against you has. She sees all…"

"Knows all." Aggie finished, focusing her own gaze on them. Her eyes were a bright, dangerous red that set off the heroes before them.

"What are you two?" Scott asked them and Lucy giggled, her voice merry and cheerful.

"We'll tell you if you come with us. Take it as a bonus, if you will. As you have no real other choice." Aggie shrugged as the car was lifted off the ground and tossed off the road and into a tree. Wanda spotted a flash of brown hair that disappeared into the forest behind the twins. Another laugh was heard but behind the treeline.

Lucy let out a sigh. "Pardon Clara, she has had little exposure to others. She is not as tame as my sister and I."

This unsettled the group, but they knew that if the one that had thrown the van down the road so far came at them, it would be a fight they had a severe disadvantage with. The girl was fast, granted not as fast as Wanda's brother had been, but Wanda got the feeling that it was more due to the fact that the girl wanted to be seen.

The girls turned and walked into the forest and they followed them.

"Was that your mother singing?" Bucky asked, with the distinct feeling he knew the girls.

Aggie nodded and Lucy voiced her reply, "Mother likes to be noticed. So few people ever stop when they see her now. It makes everything so much more difficult. It is nice that you stopped willingly. Much less messy for everyone involved."

An older girl stepped out beside the group. "I am Clara."

She appeared to be a pre-teen, somewhere around twelve or thirteen. Her brown hair was as wild as the woman's had been, but shorter, only reaching her shoulders. She wore a denim jumpsuit that was three sizes too big, but rolled and pinned to fit her better.

Her eyes were as bright a red as her sister's. The three were so fair that they damn near glowed in the darkness, but they seemed skilled enough to blend into their surroundings. The twins were swinging their arms back and forth as they walked ahead and another girl followed behind the group, a year or so older than the twins. Wanda felt unnerved when she noticed the girl and the way she stared at the redhead.

Clara wheedled her way between Steve and Bucky. She looked at the brunette man with wide eyes, but they seemed exuberant, like she couldn't be happier to meet him. She smiled at him and he ignored his gut and smiled back softly at her.

His gut told him that something was terribly off about the girls, but there was something about them. They were predatory, but he doubted that these girls were capable of evil. Clara turned her gaze on his metal arm.

"Mother said you had a metal arm." She mentioned and the twins turned back to glare at her.

"Clara, that is not for us to discuss." The twins said in unison, unsettling the group further.

Clara looked depressed at the thought and fell back behind Bucky. He didn't like her behind him, he didn't like anyone being behind him really, and he grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her back to his side. She gripped his hand in a stone hold and she beamed at him. He didn't even try to pull back, he found himself not wanting to the longer he was beside her. The twins smiled at him kindly and turned back around, leading them through the forest.

Eventually they found a path, though it was overgrown to say the least. "You live in the old base."

The girl at the back replied.

"Yes. It is where Mother grew up, she is quite attached-"she let out a giggle. "-to the place."

They walked for a few miles till they came to a stop by a rock face. Lucy gently pushed a boulder away, as if she did not want to break it. It revealed a metal door-vibranium.

The girl at the back came to the front and knocked on the door. It slid open a moment later to reveal a very young girl-a toddler- two, maybe three years old. She was sucking on her thumb and clutching a small glass doll in her hand. The doll wore a yellow stained lace dress and the girl wore a dress that matched it.

Her brown hair was in her face and the unnamed girl picked her up and swept some of the locks out of her eyes. She led them through the entrance and into a hall. "Genny, you are supposed to be with Mother. Someone else can answer the door. What if a stranger knocked? You could get hurt."

The toddler shook her head rapidly, removing her thumb from her mouth to reveal sharp teeth as well. "Nuh-uh Mary! I couh take um."

Mary sighed and placed her down on the floor, taking her by the hand and escorting them to the main chamber. Another set of doors awaited them and Mary knocked on the door again.

Ruffling was heard and shuffling came to the door where it opened to reveal a man with the same eerie red eyes.

"Uncle, we have brought Mother's guests." Mary said as they entered the chamber.

Bucky traced his gaze around the chamber, spotting the device chair that they used to toy with his head at the back. Around the chamber on all sides were twelve tubes, almost like columns holding the roof up. The man, their Uncle, was odd. He looked familiar, but Bucky knew he would have recognized him if he had seen him before.

The man caught his stare. He chuckled, "I am no longer human, that is why you do not recognize me."

Scott stared at the man, "Then what are you? Enhanced?"

"Of a sort." He clipped.

Bucky found his gaze on the dais in the center of the room. Another tube column protruded from it and it extended down from the ceiling. He traced it to the top and took a breath at the sight. Wanda spoke up.

"Is that blood?" She asked, appalled at the sight of so much of it.

Mary had released Genny and the little girl ran to the dais and touched a hand to the cloudy glass of the tube. The air seemed to release a bit and the silhouette of a woman peeked out of the haze.

"Yes." The girls' Uncle replied, his arms crossed behind his back, his lab coat open to reveal plain blue scrubs.

"My name is Beau, I take it my sister brought you here." He introduced and Steve nodded.

He let out a laugh, it was not pleasant, but neither was it malevolent in any way. "Well, there she is! Feel free to approach, she will not bite in her current condition."

Beau. Do not frighten my guests, you know how rare an event this is. A feminine voice broke into the air, the voice of the singer.

"Ma'am?" Steve spoke, following Bucky's gaze to the tube. Genny giggled and whispered against the glass to her Mother.

The figure in the glass appeared to kneel down and as she reached out, a hand appeared through the glass, running her fingers through her daughter's curls. The girl leant into her Mother's touch and Bucky could just make out the wire that was attached through her hand.

"My, my, my. Dinner, what a nice surprise." Another voice was heard and a woman appeared behind the tube, trailing the tips of her fingers over the glass as she circled around to them.

"Lenora, they are your mother's guests. They might not be dinner...Yet." Beau drawled, looking over a clipboard in his hands.

Lenora stilled when her Mother snapped out her hand and captured her own. Her red eyes clouded over black for a few moments, no other color present. After a minute she blinked and it disappeared. She appeared at her Uncle's ear, whispering softly.

He left the room and slowly two other girls stepped into the room. Neither of them were older than seventeen physically and they all had their sister's ephemeral features. The group stepped forward into the room to allow the girl's entrance. The eldest, Lenora, stepped back up to the tube.

"What is wrong with your Mother?" Steve asked her and Lenora scoffed.

"A collection of shit. Ill health, ill choices in people, ill choices in general. You'll have to be specific." She sighed when she felt her mother's disappointment fill the air.

She turned to the tube and apologized softly, brightening when her mother reached out and ran a hand over her chin lightly, a sign of forgiveness. She had always thought her mother too forgiving, too kind. If they had done those things to her, she would have killed them.

If they had done what they've done to me to you, they would be dead, darling. Her Mother's voice was protective in her mind.

Clara released Bucky's hand and ran to her Mother, bursting with energy and happiness. Her mother released Lenora and touched a hand to Clara's forehead. The girl's eyes glazed over and she stilled.

Bucky was surprised by the concern he felt when the girl stilled so suddenly. He kept his face calm however and when Clara suddenly burst back into reality, her little face excited and happy. She glanced back at him and beamed.

"That kid really likes you," Sam mentioned and he shrugged. Bucky didn't know why, but her happiness around him was so pure, so alien to him.

A flash of a girl's face. She was pale and sickly, but she was so happy to see him. He wondered why she liked him so much. He was cold to her, always cold, but she...adored him. No one liked being around him here, but she did. Her father didn't seem to mind her being around him, and it wasn't as if her mother had stuck around long after they moved to the base.

Her name was Allegra, but the boy that moved here with her called her Ally. The boy's name was Beau, and he always gave him the stink eye when they were around him.

She called him Winter, and the soldiers around here had picked up on the nickname as well. They called him the Winter Soldier now. He couldn't remember his name anymore, so he didn't mind the nickname. It mistified him at how easily her father left her in his care. He was a trained assassin, not a babysitter.

But she was not annoying, she only followed him around and watched him train. When she had first gotten here she was shy around him but now she told him everything whenever she saw him. It was nice, to have someone give a damn, even if he knew he shouldn't care. He was The Asset, after all.

They hadn't fucked him up in the head for a while now, but he felt like the time for that was drawing near.

Bucky came out of it with a shake of his head to find the girl back latched onto his arm. She didn't flinch at the coolness of the metal, though she seemed to radiate cold herself. Beau walked back into the room, carrying a tray in one hand and a clipboard he was scanning in the other with ease. It looked almost comical, but he appeared comfortable with the awkwardness of the movement.

The girls surrounded the tray when he placed it on the lab desk. In a flash the lid was lifted and the girls had taken what was underneath so fast he hadn't seen what they now held. Clara looked up at him, her face pained as she met his gaze.

"It's going to hurt," She said, "I'm sorry."

He heard Wanda scream behind him, the redhead falling to the floor as the… blood made its way into her own bloodstream. Her power attacked at those surrounding her, but the girls were unharmed as they circled her.

Steve rushed to her side, but she didn't stop screaming. Bucky went to help as he saw a girl stab him in the shoulder with another syringe, but Clara held him with an iron grip. "What are you doing?"

"Mother said that it needed to be done." Clara said sadly and they watched as Clint, Sam, and Scott received the same treatment. Within moments, they were all screaming and clawing at their skin as their flesh seemed to burn and burn and burn.

"What are you doing?" He asked Beau and the man smiled at him. It wasn't cruel, and it wasn't quite sad- he didn't know what it was.

Beau handed him a syringe. "It hurts less if you drink it instead of inject it. Though injection makes it faster."

Clara was staring at the syringe and her eyes shone with hunger but she did not move. "You drink blood?"

Clara blinked at him, "I have to, or bad things happen."

Beau watched him, "You might want to hurry it up, you really don't want to look like dinner longer than you have to."

Clara took the syringe from him, "Mother said it wouldn't hurt you as much."

"Why?"

"I don't know, she doesn't tell us everything."

Lucy appeared at his side and stole the syringe from her sister. "You are taking too long, the younger ones are growing restless."

He looked at Genny beside her Mother's tube. She was calm and sucking on her thumb. "No they aren't."

He saw Lenora staring at him however and the two oldest appearing of the others. Lucy had followed his gaze to Genny. "She is the eldest of us."

Lucy appeared to be having trouble as well. In a sudden movement she rammed the needle through his lips (which should have been impossible given his height) and plunged the blood into his mouth.

It tasted… odd. Not bad, and it seemed to grow better and better till he was forced to swallow. It began to burn at his insides and he collapsed to his knees before the girls, clawing at his chest as his heart began to beat faster and faster till he felt like it would explode. He felt Clara hold back his metal arm and his vision became dotted and everything faded to black.


	2. Memories Pt. 1

A/N: Here is the second chapter of Drag Me Down. Chapters titled Memories will be flashbacks of Bucky's. This chapter I split in half because it was really long before- next chapter will be coming next week. Thank you for checking out my story and please tell me what you think below! Enjoy :)

The girl was hugging him, a killer. Allegra clutched onto him and he heard her sobbing against his chest. She was older now, a late teenager- somewhere around eighteen or nineteen. She was sicker, all the color gone from her skin and her hair dead as whatever was ailing her began to kill her. She was wearing all black- funeral garb- and he held her silently as she cried.

Someone had died- her father. Beau wasn't speaking to her she claimed and he knew the boy was avoiding her.

She had gone to him, managing to track down his room in the basement. He felt awkward holding her, he couldn't remember anyone coming to him with anything other than when they needed someone killed. Allegra had slowed her sobs, and she was silent against him except for her breathing and sniffles.

He held her against him on the bed and she clutched her arms around him with all her strength, but it wasn't much now, she was sicker than before. Her cheeks were sunken in and her eyes were tired and surrounded with dark circles.

"I'm sorry," She mumbled against him and he ran a hand through her hair; it was rough and dry, but it smelled like the lemon balm that had grown in what he thought was his mother's garden. It was one of the only things he remembered about his life before all of this.

She pushed back onto her knees beside him and he found himself lost in her pale jade green eyes. She ran a hand over her face, obscuring his view for a moment. She let out a breath and smiled at him softly. It was one of apology and he leant up to grab hold of her face.

Allegra leant into his palm, grabbing his wrist to prevent him from pulling away. He knew this was wrong, there would be hell to pay if anyone knew she was here. They knew that she spent her time with him, but he was still only a wardog to them, and she…

Her father had been the commander of this base, though there was no telling what would happen to her and her adopted brother now. Her brother filled in as a doctor here, he had even been treated once by the boy.

The boy did not like him in the least, but he knew that Beau was just jealous of how his sister looked at him.

But what would they do with her? He couldn't say; he never knew their reasoning anymore.

She laid back down beside him, her soft curves lying against his side.

"Winter?" She asked and his blue gaze trailed down to look at her.

"Thank you." She murmured against his chest. He let out a breath.

Allegra turned up and faced him.

He didn't think when he kissed her, all thoughts gone from his mind.

Allegra responded against him and he flipped her over till his frame hung over hers. Allegra's hands wrapped around his neck and he ran his own down her sides, careful not to hurt her. She shivered against him and opened her mouth further to him.

Her long legs wrapped around his hips and he groaned at the feeling of her so close against him. There was no way she knew what she was doing to him. He had to stop, but he didn't want to and so continued his ministrations, sliding his hand up her shirt to encapsulate her breasts in his palms. Her hands became more desperate and she slid them down to pull at the hem of his undershirt . He pulled off the shirt and it fell to the floor.

He tugged at her own and she rapidly unbuttoned it and revealed herself to his hungry gaze. He licked and teased at her nipples and she let out a soft moan in response. It had been so long, so damn long since he had any relief.

Allegra's hands clawed into his back, only heightening his desire for more. She thrust her hips against his and he let out a groan. He had to pull back- he really had to. But he didn't, his hands unbuttoning her pants and sliding them down her legs. She released him long enough for him to pull off her pants and discard them onto the floor with the rapidly growing pile of clothing.

She wrapped her arms around his neck once more and pulled him to her, kissing him. His tongue brushed along her teeth. They were sharp, like they had been filed to make them like razors. She allowed him entrance, and he didn't blink when he felt himself bleed a bit. She didn't appear to notice, but her movements seemed more desperate now, and he felt her struggle with his pants.

She let out a moan against him, and he tugged off his own pants. He slid his fingers beneath her underwear while his metal hand teased the flesh over her abdomen. Her back arched and he groaned when he felt her wrap her legs around his hips again. She was wet against his hand and he felt her moan as he ripped the offensive underwear away from her.

Nothing was between them now and he teased the little nub and she arched up to meet him. He felt her grow wetter and she kissed him again.

"More," She moaned against his lips and he felt compelled to act.

He lined himself up against her entrance and slid inside of her heat with care. When he came to her barrier he kissed her again, distracting her as he sharply pushed through. She let out a hiss against his lips and he stilled for a moment once he was fully seated in her.

After a few moments he felt her thrust against him and he groaned before he began to withdraw. He pulled back till only his head was inside, thrusting back all the way in after a second passed. She cried out beneath him and ground her hips against his own, her arms crawling up to encase his back.

And then it became a flurry of movements, her soft cries pushing him further and further till he felt her clench him within her. He let out a groan of his own as he came within her, both of them shaking as she milked him.

He braced his arms over her, so his weight wouldn't completely go slack against her. He flipped onto the side of the mattress, and he let out a breath when he felt her slide over to lean against him, her leg wrapping around him. She kissed his chest softly and he damn near sighed at the feeling. God, he was screwed.

After a few minutes she slowed and soon enough he felt her breathing even out beside him till she was asleep. Or at least he thought she was. She wrapped an arm around him, letting out a soft sigh.

"I love you, Winter." Allegra mumbled against him and he blew out a breath.

He didn't say anything, but she clearly didn't expect him to and soon enough she was actually asleep. This was bad. He shouldn't stay with her, not would use her against him; he was sure about that. He cared about her, not like she did for him, or at least not yet.

He should have expected this, he knew she liked him the most out of everyone here, even more so than her brother. He didn't know how he felt about her, sometimes he didn't feel anything about anything.

It was difficult for him to think of anything at times beside the orders he was given and he was certain that was purposefully done during his training. He was certain they had taken care to erode his sense of self, but for some reason her father had been lax with him- treating him with care that felt unfamiliar coming from a head of HYDRA base.

The man had told him that as long as he kept in line he would be left to himself, but her father had died and soon a new superior would take over at the base where he was stationed and who knew what awaited him then?

He knew well how other superiors had treated him- a small old doctor with a nasty grin present in the back of his memories- brief mentions of an electric chair that could wipe the memories of anyone who sat in it.

He knew they had used it on him before- when they created him at least.

Had heard that they had used it several times since then- that he kept requiring it because he would be reminded of his life before.

He knew he had sat in the chair once since he had been moved here- when Allegra was very young and her family was still new to the base.

But since her father had taken over in full he hadn't been wiped clean like that- the man had claimed he hadn't needed to be when the base was occasionally visited by overseers.

A part of him said that he should be worried that he hadn't warranted it- that his memories were necessary if he ever wanted to get out. But the larger part of him was glad for it, achingly certain that to recover his past would screw over all the freedoms he had been allowed here.

This way he had some form of a life- even if it was small and haphazardly constructed between missions.

He had thought that the Commander wouldn't want his daughter around him after the first assassination mission he had been sent on after the wipe, but the man didn't seem to care and Allegra hadn't cared either, even when she had gotten older and learned of his role within HYDRA and for some reason it unnerved him that she treated him so easily- it defied all logic to him. Everyone was scared of him to some degree, but Allegra had never looked at him with anything other than positivity and he couldn't for the life of him figure out why.

She doesn't know you, that's why. She doesn't know the full details of what you've done, she doesn't know what you've done to her. Not really.

Hours passed, he managed to convince her to leave after they showered. She looked brighter than before, like he had given her life if only for a short time.

No one could know about what they have done; they'd use her to punish him if they found out. So he avoided her, like her brother had done. He heard often that she went looking for him around the base. The other grunts thought it hilarious that she followed after him.

It was a few weeks later that he stopped hearing about her. She had stopped looking for him, which was a relief. But a small part of him was concerned for her. Her brother gave him the stink eye every time he saw him now. They must have made up, then.

Beau had a wound on his neck almost all the time, but now it was at all times. Occasionally it would bleed afresh when he spotted Winter, but the soldier had never questioned it.

After a particularly rough mission he arrived at the base's clinic to find Allegra laying on a cot faced away from him. He spotted the tubes attached to her arms, but it appeared she was sleeping. Beau was at her side, in his hand a bag of blood. He hooked the blood onto the stand and it began to drip into the tube connected to his sister. Her brother's neck was free from bandages, but covered in dry blood.

Beau didn't notice him enter the room and sit on a cot in the far corner away from them. A man, one of the grunts, was lying on the cot beside Allegra. He was pale and bloody, but from what, Winter could not tell.

Allegra stirred and sat up, her eyes blinking and hazy. Her brother was at her side in a heartbeat, his own skin pale from the loss of blood. Some color was appearing in her skin, and she looked tired. She noticed her brother's wound and sighed.

"You're so good to me, Beau. You deserve so much better." She sighed and Beau shook his head, annoyance in his eyes.

He said nothing, however and when Allegra pointed at his kit went to pick it up for her. She cleaned his neck enough for Winter to spot a… bite of some sort. He watched Allegra bandage the bite and put away the used supplies. Beau sat patiently on the cot as his sister worked.

As she went to pull away he caught her hand in his grip. "You need to get rid of it. It's killing you."

She looked infuriated by his words, but said nothing, ripping her hand from his and sitting up as well as she could given her attachment. He sighed and stood, walking over to his desk and pulling out a syringe, the liquid within, a flourescent red- unnatural. He walked over to his sister, grabbing her arm and injecting it into the IV in her elbow.

She appeared to grow more tired and fell slack against the wall she had sat against. Her eyes glared at her brother.

"Ally," He said to her, "It won't be alright if it even survives, you know the medication is changing you, can you only imagine what it's doing to it?"

She clenched eyes shut and a couple of tears made their way down her hollowed cheeks. Beau sat down beside her again and held her in his arms. Her form was shaking, and she muffled her sobs into his shoulder.

"It doesn't feel right," She sputtered, "I can't kill her, she's mine. I can't do it."

He sighed and held her for a while, and Winter slipped from the room unseen. Now he really regretted it all. They would find out, and they were both screwed. He was surprised that Beau hadn't confronted him, if someone had done that to his sister, he would have killed him.

She was pregnant. Had it been that long since he had seen her? He could've sworn it had been only four, maybe five weeks, but his sense of time had been distorted to say the least.

What medication was she on that it was changing her for that matter? The child was suffering too, then. Beau must have been right, he would never have hurt his sister like that unless it was the truth.

So he stalked the halls until he found the apartment she shared with her brother. He had been there before, when she was younger and she wanted him to spend time with her. She would tug on his hand and pull him into her room away from her father's meetings , he would shrug and go along with it because he almost always knew what his part was long before any mission.

Her room was a pale blue in color with soft greys and slightly brighter blues in accent. He sat down on one of the comfortable chairs that furnished the space and waited her arrival. An hour or so later, he heard soft footsteps ghost to the door and the door slid open and she stepped within, not noticing his presence. She pulled off her jacket and pulled off her shirt before she noticed him. Her back had faced him through this and he was surprised that she managed to spot him in the darkness.

She gasped and turned on the light, her face lighting up when she knew it was him. God, how he felt like a failure when he thought of how much he must have hurt her if she was so happy to see him. Her green eyes looked glassy as she smiled at him and he stood and walked to her.

When he stopped he reeled a step back when she crashed into him, locking her arms around his torso. He regained his footing and wrapped his arm around her, feeling like complete and utter shit when he felt his shirt dampen. She took a deep breath and then released it slowly before looking up at him.

"Winter?" she asked and he released her, taking a step back. She looked confused at her actions, till she felt his gaze travel over her.

"I know." He said, "About her."

Shock entered her eyes and she was quiet. After a few moments she let out a sigh and turned around to finish undressing. He was silent as she did so, and from her tenseness he knew she knew he was analyzing her. She turned back around and made to walk to her closet before he grabbed hold of her.

He was quiet for a moment before he let out a breath, "I'm sorry."

"Why?" she asked him, partly curious and partly worried if her eyes were to go by. She turned to face him and he scanned her once more.

Her arms were skinnier like all the fat she had went to her belly, which was not a lot. He found himself reaching out to touch and he pulled back as he caught himself. She grabbed his hand and pulled it back to her, letting it rest against her abdomen. He wrapped the vibranium arm around her and he gently pressed a finger against her stomach. The wires registered the pulsing that emanated from her and he nearly hissed at the feeling.

(In the hours following their meeting he would recount that pulsing for what it was- unnatural, something beyond human. And he would wonder if the child would be normal before shaking his head, knowing that no child coming from either he or she would be normal.)

He couldn't feel much through that arm, but the rapid beating caught his senses. She walked closer to him and he lost thought when her breasts met his chest. He felt her run her hands up his arms until they were around his face, pulling him down. She kissed him, her tongue dancing against his softly, so sweetly that he could think of nothing else.

He pulled back once he gained back logic. "No, Allegra. I don't want to hurt you."

Her eyes were confused, "But you haven't hurt me? You won't."

"I," he ran a hand over her stomach lightly, "Your brother said she was killing you."

She sighed, running a hand through her hair in exasperation. She turned her back on him and plopped herself on the bed, her legs crossed as she leaned back using her hands to look at him. She looked at him silently for a while, her eyes penetrating and warm.

She let out a breath and a small laugh. It was warm and light, but her words were surprisingly derelict of the qualities. "I was going to die anyway. It is inevitable either way. Besides that, she isn't the one killing me. It's this damn sickness that no one can define that's killing me."

She leant up and forward. She pulled him closer till they were even. She had uncrossed her legs and he could feel her warmth radiating off her skin. It wasn't as powerful as his own, but for her it was.

Her eyes were brighter than he had seen them before. Her skin was warm and a pale pink, making her appear lively, though the dark circles and lack of muscle or a decent level of fat gave her away. Her strawberry blond hair was tied back into a braid, and it appeared to have more of a bounce to it than before as well.

She had curls when she was younger- they used to bounce whenever she moved her head, even at the smallest of movements.

As it was now, her hair was darker from years without sun and still too dry for her to have been healthy. He found himself wrapping one of the loose curls around his finger. It almost had a crunch to it and when he pinched it they both heard the sound. She frowned softly, a slight grimace making it onto her face and she looked down at his chest.

He released the lock of hair, trailing the back of his hand over her clenched jaw. After a moment, she exhaled and the tension left her. In a sudden movement that managed to surprise him, he felt her pull him down as she fell back onto the mattress. He managed to brace himself on the bed frame with his knee.

He looked into her eyes.

"Touch me," She beckoned, her eyes glassy once more. She kissed a trail down his jaw and along his neck, nipping lightly at his flesh till she noticed a cut bleed freshly beneath the top of his shirt and jacket.

She pulled back and sat up, removing his jacket quickly. He knew she was concerned by the worry that shone in her eyes, and he felt a pang of raw emotion when she hissed at the sight of his wounds. He had a jagged slash across his already scarred chest and two stab wounds that were already healing on his hip. Her nostrils flared and he spotted a flash of pink in her eyes before it was gone in a flash. She slid off of her bed and forced him to sit down, throwing on a silk robe and disappearing into the hall only to come back and shut the door quietly behind herself.

The slash had stopped bleeding half an hour ago, but when she cleaned it began to bleed anew. She sighed and her brows were furrowed together with worry as she worked. He did not wince or flinch or show any response as she worked- he had been trained not to. She sewed the cut closed neatly and inspected the bloody bandages covering the now minor stab wounds. They had not been minor when he had gotten them, but his speedy healing had served to save his life.

She peeled the bandages off with care, trying not to hurt him more than necessary. No one had ever done that for him- no one had cared enough to. But then again, he was more a tool to HYDRA than a person, no matter how well he was treated currently.

She cleaned the wounds and the flesh around them, trying not to rip at the sutures with her sharp nails. He had barely felt it, but she had scratched well and good despite being careful not to when cleaning his slash. There was a long thin pink line above the slash that he now noticed. She finished her work seconds later and he grabbed hold of her hand with his vibranium arm, in his rush to inspect her hand neglecting her reaction to his strength. She had flinched, but it didn't register with him as he turned her hand over in his hand.

It was small, but her fingers were nimble and long- like a piano players. There were a few scars on the backs of them from where she had been stuck with needles too many times. Her nails were thin, but long and deadly, like she sharpened them herself. He knew she hadn't however. He pressed the tip against one of his fingers, digging it in very little before his blood oozed to the surface.

She laughed, it was a nervous and erratic laugh, one that aroused his suspicions. She was keeping something from him, and most likely everyone else.


End file.
